Jackson doesn't feel burn of 2010

Texans cornerback moving past tough rookie campaign.

By Jeffrey Martin/jeffrey.martin@chron.com

Published 10:53 pm, Wednesday, August 3, 2011

HOUSTON — Kareem Jackson squared up in front of Kevin Walter, mirroring the wide receiver’s short burst of steps off the line of scrimmage with a quick backpedal of his own. When Walter broke right on the slant route, Jackson dug his feet into the turf and drove forward.

Just as quickly, though, Jackson resembled the rookie cornerback that was victimized so often last year. Undrafted rookie free agent Jeff Maehl, a productive player at Oregon, unleashed a hitch-and-go pattern so convincing that Jackson bit, stumbled and never really recovered, beaten badly for a long touchdown.

This, seen too many times during the 2010 season, was familiar. But the reaction was not.

Welcome to the attitude readjustment portion of Texans camp, where Jackson and the rest of the defensive backs are receiving extra attention. Blamed for most of the defense’s ills, the secondary — which was the NFL’s worst last season — could use some positive reinforcement.

“When you coach defensive backs, confidence is everything,” he said. “Even if they’re not doing something right, you always want to find something positive to give them because it’s a hard job.

“I want to be positive so I can give him confidence. He can play well for us.”

But he hasn’t. Not yet, anyway. It’s telling that Jackson, when asked about the criticism and the chatter about his uneven play last year, didn’t get defensive Wednesday.

“Regardless of what you do in this world, everybody is going to have something to say about it,” Jackson said. “This is the job I chose.”

He left Alabama following his junior year, drafted by the Texans with the 20th overall pick in the draft. But his rookie season wasn’t anything remotely close to what he expected. Jackson admitted that everything was a blur in 2010, but this year has been better because the scheme is similar to what he learned under Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.

Over the summer, Jackson said he watched film and worked out on his own, concentrating on his conditioning. The game has slowed, and maybe last year was an aberration.

“I never doubted myself,” he said. “I know I can play this game, so I just come out every day and work.”

That’s the confidence Joseph needs to see from his second-year cornerback, who, after the free-agent signings of Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning and the shift of Glover Quin to safety, represents the unit’s largest question mark.

But the secondary coach craves even more.

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“He’s doing well, and he knows what to do, but he has to do it better from a technique perspective,” Vance Joseph said. “He has to want to be the best. That’s the key with great corners.